Assam: Rhino horn recovered, two nabbed

Sibsagar (Assam): Two persons were arrested and a rhino horn and its small pieces worth over Rs 45 lakh in the international market were recovered from their possession in upper Assam's Sibsagar district, the police said.

Acting on a tip-off about the theft of the rhino horn, the police launched an operation at Sibsagar town's Noali in Joisagar area on Wednesday, they said.

Gautam Gogoi, a member of an inter-state gang dealing in rhino horns, was nabbed with pieces of rhino horn, they said.

Based on a lead provided by Gautam, the police searched the house of his gang member Maneki Gogoi in Gaurisagar area and recovered a horn hidden in the kitchen on Thursday.

The horn weighing 1.35 kg is eight inches high and is estimated to fetch Rs 45 lakh in the black market, the sources added.

The two horn illegal dealers were forwarded to two-day police custody by a local court on Thursday.

Rhino horns are made of keratin, a similar protein that makes up hair and finger nails, and are used by some cultures for preparing traditional medicines and specifically in Vietnam for ornamental purposes.